What is the difference between solitude and isolation? Stock up for those summer smoothies! Trintellix and Restless Legs - Antidepressants - CrazyBoards.org Reclassification of Electroshock Therapy - Health Nothing worked and I was still severely depressed and suicidal. Sleep, exercise, nutrition, psychotherapy, social support groups, stress management, and often medication play a critical role in maintaining health after ECT. FDA is not putting consumers before the financial interests of the ECT device manufacturers and American Psychiatric Association. 12 to 16-ounce bags of frozen fruit. ), Ive had numerous ECT treatments because I was deemed treatment resistant and now have to live with severe memory loss and cognitive impairment., I am signing this petition because I am still recovering from shock treatment that was done to me over forty years ago., Im signing because I know the horror of this disabling procedure., Three people we have known have been traumatized and damaged by this procedure, a woman who can no longer read because she cant remember the previous page, a father who can no longer think, remember or function enough to work and a 17 yr old who blames his parents for not protecting him when he was shocked with his parents consent., Im an electroshock survivour and have experienced the harm caused by it, as well as the lies to cover it up., I absolutely disagree that ECT is safe in any way. I had been told by expert shrinks that I was completely incapable of sitting in a room full of people due to my severe personality disorder. Wow, I found that this was entirely untrue! The theory is that by sending an electric current to the brain, triggering a seizure, you can reset the brains existing electrical current, relieving the symptoms of some mental health problems. The memory loss, the physical malaise, the nausea and headache despite medication made things worse instead of better. He said he believed in me. It is done to the most vulnerable like seniors in large numbers in most of the Western countries. Perhaps neither treatment is better or worse, just different. And yes, there is no doubt the majority of people would recover or heal without being administered multiple traumatic electrical head injuries via shock. How had I forgotten I was so good at it? Is climate change killing Australian wine? It's been a hard burden to bear the past 15 years. The electrodes are placed on the temples. Its fairly acceptable to admit to taking antidepressants these days, less so ECT. Press the button to drop ice balls into cones, then squeeze water from a bottle onto the Water Wow! surface to create color-changing play snow-cones! A junior doctor told me recently that they were taught that memory problems were unusual and short-lived. He subsequently committed suicide., My mother was given ECT for a major depressive episode brought about by my father divorcing her. The risks are just too bad. Id forgotten I could even do that.. The article argues the quality of previous studies into ECT is so poor, they "were wrong to conclude anything about efficacy, either during or beyond the treatment period". My life is so far down the drain after ECT brain damage and TBI. As his ECT regimine progressed he lost all knowledge of the start we had made. After several (or only one) of these treatments, the patient experiences headaches, nausea, loss of memory, disorientation and emotional instability, and other symptoms. She was convinced the ECT was responsible for her sudden memory loss and inability to function, but what followed was two years of denial by the medics who treated her. More recently, after literally dozens of antidepressant treatments had failed to help her, Ashley was able to enroll in a clinical test of the experimental rapid-acting I dont think it helped anyone at all. No one ever talked to me about those four root causes, just the symptoms. So I got on all kind of psych drugs that made it hard to work and then I started losing jobs and failing out of grad school. When she was 17, in 1985, Miss Dunn was taken to the now-demolished St Luke's Hospital in Middlesborough and underwent ECT in hope that it would improve her condition. This therapy needs to be stopped., Im signing because I was subjected to extensive shock treatment from 1996-2005 as a result of misdiagnosis. When ECT is properly administered, brain damage does not occur. Disinterest in socializing or activities. Subscription is just 4.99 a month, and all income from subscriptions goes to Big Issue North Trust and helps vendors in the North of England to make positive changes to their lives. They still do that? These questions repeat so often, my eyes start to roll. Julie Hersh is the author of Struck By Living: From Depression to Hope. And thats the key. "While ECT can sometimes cause people to lose some past memories, we've become much better at mitigating . Its the creation of a concussion disguised as a treatment. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussionbroadly speakingof psychiatry and its treatments. She said: "I had the horror film image in the back of my head, but I didn't believe they would be treating me using this mediaeval technique. This disgrace has to go., A close friend of mine of more than 30 years no longer recognized me after ECT., ECT is extremely barbaric and damaging. Read about our approach to external linking. I had 30 rounds of ect for severe depression at 21 years old. Within a month, I realized that I loved to write. It has five years since the ect has been done. ECT: A Life Saving Treatment - Medium ECT was not only ineffective at sustainably improving my mental health, but it did significantly damage my memory and brain function., My grandfather, a NASA engineer, was reduced to a vegetative state through treatment with ECT. 6 months subscription | 85.00 The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to treat depression should be immediately suspended, a study says. Real talk. For what? It's hard to think rationally when you're mind is focused on all the ways you think you have ruined your life. She only had to pay $650 a month for rent, electricity is cheaper there, ect. and our 30 Apr 2023 15:21:44 After the ECT she just like wasnt there and had this bugged out smile stuck on her face like in that old commercial that showed lottery winners at the time. Is there any idea of the time frame involved in the FDA reviewing the submissions and making a ruling? Difficulty concentrating. Reviewed by Ekua Hagan. Breaking Blind: Antipsychotic Drug Efficacy May Be Overestimated, Unveiling Brazils Rich Tradition in Participatory Mental Health Research. So for example, one of the things I showed many years ago when you could get the figures was in Suffolk. Nothing that causes epileptic seizures and erases your memory can be helpful. It's mainly because ECT is out of my realm of experience. He did admit to some memory loss but it wasn't too severe. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Anyway there was no I want to try ECT to feel better, nope, only I hate this . The medical community completely minimized them. Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, HSBC says 1 bank buyout boosted profit by $1.5bn, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month. The campaign for it in the medical community is completely flawed. It's systematically and gradually wiping out their memory and cognitive function.". ECT is designed to induce a seizure with electric currents while a patient is under anesthesia. After explaining to Mr. Ryan my inability to input all of the comments we received through the petition, and howdocuments from my own comments were not successfully uploaded, he agreed to accept these documents in print form. In the UK ECT will usually be suggested if your condition: is life-threatening and you need a rapid improvement to save your life; is either causing you immense suffering or is likely to get worse, so that a rapid improvement is needed; has not responded to other treatments, such as medication and psychological therapy; Side effects include memory loss and numerous neurological abnormalities. Ect ruined my life. You cant make sense of your world. This journal article from Dr. Alan E. Brooker . Of course this earned me a mental health label because thats the way it works, right? I felt hopeless and useless. While you may be aware of the hazards (heart attacks, brain bleeds, memory loss), what you probably dont know about is what happens to them as people who you interact with. Dr. Stephen Seiner, director of the psychiatric neurotherapeutics program at McLean Hospital . Rebecca Lawrence is a consultant psychiatrist, In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. 3 months subscription | 45.00. Some may welcome this at a time of great distress and suffering. Did I ruin my life? These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. I am now so forgetful and have a horrible attention span. Eventually Cunliffe was referred to a neuropsychologist who diagnosed brain damage as a result of ECT. Has anyone tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy or holistic approaches that provide even minor benefits? In total, I have had around 70 individual treatments. Some who consider ECT worry about memory loss. al. Do we eliminate heart surgery because some have a second heart attack? No way do I believe guts and determination was what saved me. Within a couple weeks after electro-shock treatments , arriving home at my parents house , having been released into their custody, with great difficulty I convinced my dad to verbally fill in the gaps in my memory where I knew uncomfortably , that stuff was missing concerning my previous history and yet did not know what it was. A woman who was administered controversial electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is campaigning to ban the mental health treatment. These doctors should be held criminally liable for their unethical practice of denying risk. Also the extreme state formula herbal extract you can make yourself by mixing equal parts of fennel, alfalfa, elderberry, nettle, anise, dandelion, uva ursi , yarrow, and comfrey . Use spell-check. Side effects ranged from the pleasant "being woozy is actually really nice" right through to the extremely unpleasant e.g. I have no memory at all of it or of the previous 10 years of my life. Ill join in demonstrating to stop electro shock wherever and whenever possible for me to do so, coercive psychiatry as well . But not only that I wouldnt be able to remember words. I know I did, but perhaps this is a process that should be repeated? However, the researchers go on to say "it is not hard to find hundreds of personal accounts of debilitating levels of disruption to people's lives". Until then, Ill answer the persistent questions. The reason? One of the pioneers of research into subjective memory impairment were Squire and Chace who published a series of studies in the 1970s demonstrating the adverse effect of bilateral ECT on subjective assessment of memory. Quite the reverse. She was eventually prescribed morphine for pain relief. (The Hersh Foundation will be announcing an exciting partnership with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in May; stay tuned.) The Mind-Body Problem, The Dreadful Physical Symptoms of Dementia, 2 Ways Empathy Determines the Type of Partner We Choose, To Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life, Seek These Goals, 4 Ways to Stop Beating Yourself Up, Once and For All, Nasal Spray vs. IV Ketamine for Depression. Leave it to psychiatry to promote brain damage as a mental health benefit.. This creates a severe convulsion or seizure of long duration, called a grand mal . Both electrodes are placed over the temples, overlapping the frontal lobes of the brain. No one has these god-like abilities to know what will happen, no psychiatrist nor leader nor law nor use of religion should proclaim a person so permanently disordered that they are incapable nor morally unsound. I dont remember where Rainier Ave South is for example. My idea was to learn this cool thing called email, and have email pals. No drugs do not cause such harm. I also have no memory, ever, of having consented to treatment. I have notes stuck all over my walls to remind me what to do. And this is what a lot of ECT victims find, because you then get labelled with other diagnoses and your family are told you are just mad. He knew that my word as witness (I had written up a 62-page document that later became a chapter of my published memoir) had been credible regarding Metropolitan State Hospital. Force never does. The mind seeks an answer or meaning in any experience. My daughter was a baby when I first had it, and Ive lost a lot of her first two years, during which I had a number of courses. During electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) patients are put under a general anaesthetic and a paralytic and then an electrical current is run through their brain. TMS aka rTMS for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive type of brain stimulation treatment. I was messed up but i was happy and i was good in my classes and with my friends. ECT doctors view this as an improvement but actually it indicates severe and disabling brain injury. Later, I let myself think about it, knowing that the reason for my unease was that I, too, had undergone a similar number of ECT treatments. I would love to walk right up to the shock doc who did it to me, and all those who participated in the coercion and subsequent cover-up and minimalizing and refusal to acknowledge the obvious damages, who are namely, The McLean Hospital Corporation, Shock doc Dr. Michael Henry and the ECT Clinic, and all those bigwigs at McLean who went along with it whom I have mentioned by name in my various documents (I fear them not as I am telling the truth, can they do the same for a change? After the ECT she didnt hang out or talk to anyone. I was told it would simply make my brain reset itself and in a short time I would be fine It is just a lobotomy really. The Shocking Truth About ECT | Psychology Today Both are issues which are ripe for coalition building as well. It is unjust and dangerous!, My grandmother died after receiving ECT, which was given to her simply because she was grieving over husbands death. They can't both be true. Off on a bit of a tangent, but are there any ECT victims who have found ways to help remediate their brain damage? Reprints. ECT is a simple procedure, but many precautionary measures must be taken before the pulse of electricity can be given to produce the seizure. Just the thought of it is terrorizing me still today., Everyone should have all information regarding their treatment before administration of such a treatment, although I felt that I benefited by it I believe that everyone has the right to refuse it., Because I have seen the effects that this machine has on people and its destructive and deadly. Psychotherapy, DBT, exercise, meditation etc are much better,without memory loss or brain damage. I know, as I was given many shocks without my consent. What do neuropsychs suggest? i know this is kind of typical of these situations, i just feel so lost. There I was, now complaining that something was wrong with my brain. I know there were things I did, rather inadvertently. It should NEVER be used for ANY reason, but particularly in people who are already vulnerable due to mental illness. I have a few friends that committed suicide after receiving that violent procedure. And the next. Than they have already done! But there are people who have been treated. But he said to hang on. You wake up, a bit confused, and when that settles, youre done. It does improve, in that my ability to lay down memories quickly returns once treatment stops, but there will always be a period of months that is loosened and distorted. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Has relaxed me , stopped voices , and helped me wean off of psychotropics. ECT put famous comedian Gary Gulman on path toward remission Coming Out of Electroshock Therapy - The Atlantic To get your hands on the latest mag, youll have to buy one from one of our vendors. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. I know several people who were never the same after this treatment. I have the symptoms of a person with a traumatic brain injury. As a patient, I feel the same. A British family were left horrified after their dream Mallorca holiday turned into a bed-bug-infested nightmare. Thats why Ive signed this petition!, Patients, myself included are not given full disclosure upon obtaining consent. Then there were another 1000 comments from psychiatrists. Thousands of women with mental health issues in England given Both Cunliffe and Luff are sharing their stories as part of a campaign for an independent review into ECT. Links to other Health stories are at the foot of the page. Much thanks. Sounds dramatic Im assuming, but I am far from!, I had ECT several years ago and have had noticeable cognitive problems since and ECT does not reduce suicide risk., ECT treatments caused a huge change in my life. It impaired me beyond belief for years to come. My father, before he passed away, had told me about this new thing, Windows. Electroshock erased almost all memory of an almost 25-year career as well as my college education. Drs must not be allowed to do any harm. For the record, I am alive. As Ann Lamott put it, somewhat paraphrased, Hey doc, If you dont like what a patient writes about you, then you should have behaved, eh?. Mother-of-two Miss Dunn added: "I remember being taken into a room on the ward and being given a needle in my hand. Its that simple, and theres your answer!, My husband lost so much of his life after receiving ECT when he was too sick to make an informed decision regarding consent. Psychiatrists have incredible power. Subscribing to Big Issue North ensures you receive each copy weekly, saving 1 per magazine on postage! As part of the report, Freedom of Information Act (FOI) requests were sent to 56 NHS trusts. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Now 27 years old, Im scared about my future as its been over 5 years and Im still left with severe disabilities from it. ECT has no relevance to treatment-resistance, since this term has no real meaning, but rather, it is given when the patient is a nuisance to the institution. Also, people become compliant and they dont go around telling the staff how they hate the F***ing hospital anymore. My holiday was ruined when we were eaten by BED BUGS at four-star hotel and I needed an injection in my bum: Brits film horrific scene after discovering creepy crawlies all over them at 3am. Patient safety is being disregarded.. And what people frequently do is go to their GP and their GP will say take these antidepressants. I think the reason theyre a bit loath to give the figures anymore is that it kind of shows that electric shock isnt some scientific procedure. Keppra | MyEpilepsyTeam It does not matter that the industry lies and says it is not harmful! Another group member survived a horrific suicide attempt, and with ECT, has completely rebounded to care for her three young children. ), Very sad. . "On the basis of the clinical trial data, ECT should not be used for depressed individuals.". Brains injury is not a treatment. He passed while I was still very confused following shock. I find the FDA not reopening the shock dockets or holding accessible public hearings on the shock device unacceptable, and I hope you will agree with me that we must take further actions. I have known several people who have had ECT and desperately regret it. "All I knew is that I wanted to get back to work, and that I felt I should have been handling my father's death better, and that they had told me that ECT would work faster than drugs or the alternative, which was to do nothing at all.". Its about time that the harmed peoples stories were listened to and we got rehabilitation and support., Photo: former writer Luff was bed-ridden for four years. In the US, Mental Health America is available on 800-273-8255. our lives are very much intertwined and i can't just up and leave. This is heartbreaking., As a survivor of shock therapy, I can say it destroyed my subtle sensory ability to feel nuances of feelings that make life the experience it is meant to be. I have lost 35+ yrs of memory, 27 IQ pts, am unable to make new memories, numb, like a zombie. Good, write that down too. And I feel great! Family and friends noticed the difference reminding me NEVER to agree to be shocked again., My mother was a victim of ECT and was never the same again. New research, reviewing huge bodies of scientific evidence, found no direct link between serotonin and depression. Gary Turner, 57, and Jutta Turner, I am devastated to see other people sold ECT today by doctors who vastly downplay any side effects at all. Hello Surviving2015, and welcome. Truth, I can also answer that question. I had 30 rounds of ect for severe depression at 21 years old. Weekly Newsletter ECT almost killed me. for whatever silly reason i decided to look to about.com for first hand accounts of ECT, and completely terrified myself (there was a lot of 'ECT RUINED MY LIFE' talk and 'ECT TOOK MY SISTER AWAY' however, about.com is also the garbage heap of informational sites, so i came here. If I had to go to the hospital, I'd leave my dog at the kennels. I believe she had a nervous break-down when she realized she had been conceived out of wedlock (back then that was a big deal.) I have constant memory loss, says Luff, who previously worked as a care home manager. It was in my head, or it was my tablets. It is inhumane and not Medicine! It wiped out the majority of my autobiographical memories, and caused severe short term memory problems, apathy, eye movement disorder, spontaneous seizures, headaches, nightmares, ptsd. It seems to look through you. Recently I spoke with someone who had, in the past, been given a large number of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments. ECT: Dangerous on Either Side of the Pond - Psychiatric Times One of the last things my father said to me, before he died, was that I should not give up. That psychiatric atrocities stopped, it is first necessary to recognize psychiatry crime. I am not suffering, I am laughing my butt off, because I find this drama too funny, the stupidity, the ignorance, the bigotry just too comical. One has to wonder how long it will take for the American psychiatric industry to finally realize their treatments always have been, and still are toxic, torture drugs. Dr John Read, from the University of Liverpool, believes the treatment will eventually be consigned to the "rubbish bin of historical treatments". And as well as memory loss and mood swings, ECT, she believes, was responsible for leaving her with "terrible" recurrent headaches and neck pain. The catalogue of personal testimonies of the horrors of ECT are horrible to read but really important to record and publish.. Psychiatry an absolute evil. Until we have another better treatment that works rapidly, I think there will be a place for ECT. No one knew if I would ever get better from shock. This is the sad history of ECT. ;..g hospital , I want to go home and not miss my friends bar mitzvah. Everyone needs to listen to survivors stories; this needs to become real and fleshed-out. I have difficulty doing things that used to be second hand to me. Each one of those 1000 comments were individually composed and relatively unique. They remember me as on the brainy side, and somewhat of a bookworm, just like my dad. She said, They shocked everyone there. The rampant misinformation about this procedure compels me to offer my story as evidence of what ECT can do. The brain is unexplored territory, please do not do more harm by re-classifying this. My long term and short term memory has been greatly impaired and I have great difficulty comprehending many things.

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